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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Most often people who are overly critical of others have a lot going on in their personal lives. By shining some light on the brokenness in the lives of other people, they hope they can deflect attention on the inadequacies in their own lives. It also makes them feel much better about their own situation. Friends, we don’t get any points by making someone else look so horrible. Our situation does not improve by putting down someone else. The Lord tells us in the gospel that we need to carefully address what is going on in our lives first before we shift our gaze to what is happening in other people’s lives. “Remove the wooden beam from your eye first, then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”
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A nine-year-old girl was walking through the fields a little away from her home when two men approached her and asked for help collecting fruits from the forest. Because she was brought up with the good habit of showing courtesy to her elders, the girl quickly agreed to help.
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Strengthening family unity | Why pray?
Today's Mass Readings offer a profound invitation to re-evaluate what truly matters in our lives. St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians reminds us that our time on Earth is fleeting. He urges us to live with purpose and not become overly attached to worldly concerns. While we may not share Paul's sense of imminent urgency, his message rings true: our earthly lives are a journey toward eternity.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
My grandfather had a radio, and he was very fond of it. As a young boy, I noticed him exposing batteries from this transistor radio under the sun. Once, I asked him, "Are they wet?" "No!" he replied. "But why do you put them under the sun?" I asked again. "I placed them under the sun because they are already weak. The heat of the sun will restore their power." I don't know how scientific that is, but he believed that batteries, when exposed to the sun for some time, will regain some power to run flashlights or transistor radios for an extended time. Choosing the twelve disciples, walking on water, healing those who touched Him, the transfiguration, and the crucifixion, what took place before these powerful events in Jesus's life? Jesus spent the whole night on the mountain to pray, which I am sure recharged him for the following events.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
At some point in your life, you’ve probably heard the phrase, "No good deed goes unpunished.” Now, maybe that sounds cynical, but as most can attest, in today’s Gospel, there are times when you can be criticized for doing or at least attempting to help someone. In Jesus’ case, the scribes and the Pharisees were keeping a close watch on him…not to learn or be healed but to find a reason to accuse him of something. Once again, this took place on the Sabbath in a synagogue, and among those listening to Jesus' teaching was a man whose right hand was withered.
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Blessed Virgin Mary | Celebrating Marian feasts | Nativity of Mary
Mary’s birth is not recorded in the Bible. What we celebrate on September 8th each year is not Mary’s birthday in the traditional sense, but we honor the blessing of her being born. The word nativity refers to the circumstance or occasion of one being born. We honor the Nativity of Jesus, celebrated on December 25th, the date nine months after the celebration of the visit of the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. In a similar way, we remember Mary´s nativity, coming exactly nine months following the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the December 8th Solemnity, when we commemorate Mary’s gift of prevenient grace, allowing her to be born without Original Sin.
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